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Derek at Pat's deathbed


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Old 20-09-2013, 00:35
TLC1098
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With all the Pat talk tonight I really think this horrid scene should be brought up.
It was really unnecessary and disgusting we were saying good bye to an Eastenders legend and it should've been an emotional episode but Derek actually taunting Pat in her death bed was completely uncalled for.
How did that script even get past the head writers and it was a complete insult to Pam aswell.
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Old 20-09-2013, 00:47
DODS11
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It's fictional.
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Old 20-09-2013, 00:47
QueenAmy
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It's a Soap, it was kind of expected... Speaking of the scene though
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrBfQHR4tsw - There you go
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Old 20-09-2013, 01:06
Menime123
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I actually liked it - it's a reminder that Pat had a hard life long before she appeared onscreen.
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Old 20-09-2013, 01:14
maggiek
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With all the Pat talk tonight I really think this horrid scene should be brought up.
It was really unnecessary and disgusting we were saying good bye to an Eastenders legend and it should've been an emotional episode but Derek actually taunting Pat in her death bed was completely uncalled for.
How did that script even get past the head writers and it was a complete insult to Pam aswell.
I agree w/ you; it was horrible. EE has a knack for really hitting the under-belly.

Yes, I know it's a soap but that scene was beyond cruel.
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Old 20-09-2013, 01:15
Stupid_Head
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Considering what a dud Derek was it is even worse in hindsight having that pig near her final scenes.
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Old 20-09-2013, 01:22
los.kav
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Speaking as a fan of Jamie Foreman and Pam St Clement, yes it was a terrible idea to kill Pat off and put Derek taunting her on her death bed.
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Old 20-09-2013, 01:25
cooler
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It was nasty, but Derek wasn't an empathic character,, and Tanya soon got rid of him.
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Old 20-09-2013, 01:31
Scorpio2
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It's fictional.
We are meant to pretend soaps are real when we watch them
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Old 20-09-2013, 01:36
SellSimilar
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I thought it undermined the whole episode, affecting its emotional momentum. The great moments - David, Janine running up the stairs, Tiffany - were marred by it. All in the name of establishing a character who they quickly realised afterwards wasn't working at all.
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Old 20-09-2013, 03:09
Matthew_Howarth
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With all the Pat talk tonight I really think this horrid scene should be brought up.
It was really unnecessary and disgusting we were saying good bye to an Eastenders legend and it should've been an emotional episode but Derek actually taunting Pat in her death bed was completely uncalled for.
How did that script even get past the head writers and it was a complete insult to Pam aswell.
Well yes it was - but as indicated and discussed on another thread even the death of a legend such as Pat became about the Branning's - pure and simple - being hero-worshipped and becoming central to the show under Harwood and Kirkwood.
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Old 20-09-2013, 08:48
Collins1965
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I thought it undermined the whole episode, affecting its emotional momentum. The great moments - David, Janine running up the stairs, Tiffany - were marred by it. All in the name of establishing a character who they quickly realised afterwards wasn't working at all.
I totally agree with this.

The sight of his spiteful jeering little face ruined what should have been a beautiful episode, and the (few) bits without him in it WERE beautiful.
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Old 20-09-2013, 09:43
BumbleSquat
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It's a Soap, it was kind of expected... Speaking of the scene though
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrBfQHR4tsw - There you go
I haven't watched this episode and in particular this scene since it aired but looking back on it I do find it slightly insulting that these Brannings were even involved in Pat's final scenes.

Derek was just a character barely referenced by his own family before he even turned up for years and yet here he was, prominently taunting a legendary character on her deathbed - and we're supposed to buy it? I remember a scene about a month before this where Derek arrived in Walford and Pat tried to run away from him when she saw him - really? This was the woman who socialised with gangsters back in the day. She talked to people like Johnny Allen - actual murderers - with ease and didn't even appear fearful of it. So we're meant to believe she's scared of stumpy little Derek Branning who was nothing more than a playground bully in comparison?

Then there's Tanya and Max. Both stand-out characters of this EastEnders era no doubt, but both plonked into this episode to further try and cement their status. I did love Pat's dismissive ''I think maybe you should go downstairs now'' to Tanya though - yeah, stop gawping at the poor woman and stop trying to clearly make Pat's suffering about your own!

Also, I do find it strange that Pat was left on her own a number of times. They all know she's going to die soon and they've all pissed off downstairs and left her to it!

The episode was genuinely moving at times - when she was actually interacting with the characters that she'd shared her screentime with a lot over the years. But the storyline that got to that point was pretty shallow. Pat was diagnosed with an illness and suddenly she's at deaths door in the next episode - no real build up. I am aware that sort of thing happens in reality but if you're going to kill off a much-loved and iconic character like Pat Butcher then you have try a bit harder.

The best idea probably would've been to have Babs Windsor return and the 2 fly off to an exotic location to get leathery together in the sun - 2 old trollops on the pull and would probably end up fighting over the same bloke! That would've been very Pat.
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Old 20-09-2013, 10:31
los.kav
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I thought it undermined the whole episode, affecting its emotional momentum. The great moments - David, Janine running up the stairs, Tiffany - were marred by it. All in the name of establishing a character who they quickly realised afterwards wasn't working at all.
BiB: it felt like YEARS.
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Old 20-09-2013, 11:51
bumpandgrind
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I haven't watched this episode and in particular this scene since it aired but looking back on it I do find it slightly insulting that these Brannings were even involved in Pat's final scenes.

Derek was just a character barely referenced by his own family before he even turned up for years and yet here he was, prominently taunting a legendary character on her deathbed - and we're supposed to buy it? I remember a scene about a month before this where Derek arrived in Walford and Pat tried to run away from him when she saw him - really? This was the woman who socialised with gangsters back in the day. She talked to people like Johnny Allen - actual murderers - with ease and didn't even appear fearful of it. So we're meant to believe she's scared of stumpy little Derek Branning who was nothing more than a playground bully in comparison?

Then there's Tanya and Max. Both stand-out characters of this EastEnders era no doubt, but both plonked into this episode to further try and cement their status. I did love Pat's dismissive ''I think maybe you should go downstairs now'' to Tanya though - yeah, stop gawping at the poor woman and stop trying to clearly make Pat's suffering about your own!

Also, I do find it strange that Pat was left on her own a number of times. They all know she's going to die soon and they've all pissed off downstairs and left her to it!

The episode was genuinely moving at times - when she was actually interacting with the characters that she'd shared her screentime with a lot over the years. But the storyline that got to that point was pretty shallow. Pat was diagnosed with an illness and suddenly she's at deaths door in the next episode - no real build up. I am aware that sort of thing happens in reality but if you're going to kill off a much-loved and iconic character like Pat Butcher then you have try a bit harder.

The best idea probably would've been to have Babs Windsor return and the 2 fly off to an exotic location to get leathery together in the sun - 2 old trollops on the pull and would probably end up fighting over the same bloke! That would've been very Pat.
I agree with this.

No build up whatsoever. It’s almost like they thought, ‘oh yeah Pam is leaving at the end of the year isn’t she? Let’s just kill Pat off.’ They could’ve diagnosed her earlier in the year and shown her dealing with her disease and making peace with it – similar to Alma and Hayley in Corrie or Madge in Neighbours. They could’ve shown her unsuccessfully trying to contact David, only for him to then return as she’s on her deathbed. Instead they attached it to the end of a few festive episodes which focused on the Masoods.

Although not a legend, I highly suspect Jack will get similar treatment – decide he can’t be with Ronnie and leave the next episode. They’ve had the best part of a year to come up with something.

EastEnders really do need to sort out their exits. With the exception of Jean, they’ve all be awful for a while.

Compare it to Steve Owen – they plotted his downfall a year in advance by having him rip off a load of shady characters who then came back to get revenge for his exit. Similarly, Patsy Palmer’s original exit brought in the character of Dan and the return of Carol to send her off with a bang.

Back to the Pat exit… I didn’t mind Tanya being there – considering she had cancer herself at the time. I thought it was quite hitting to see her come face to face with someone dying from the disease, so I can forgive the writers on this occasion for shoe-horning her into the episode. Derek was just a mess of a character from day one – they honestly didn’t know whether to make him outright nasty or make him more human by bringing in Alice.

Personally I’d have liked to have seen Pat decide to move away and have a lovely goodbye episode in the Vic before seeing her board a plane to somewhere exotic, turning back and waving at her family (similar to Grant’s first exit) as a special ‘Pat’s Theme’ played. I agree they then could’ve filmed a special scene to be shown a week or so later with her and Peggy sipping cocktails on a beach eyeing up younger men.
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Old 20-09-2013, 12:35
Broken_Arrow
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The forcefeeding of the Brannings had no place in this episode. Even Pat's funeral episode was more about them than it was about Pat. I don't care how well written Pat's death was. It was the wrong decision and has pissed off millions of fans.
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